Selective imaging of saturated and unsaturated lipids by wide-field CARS-microscopy

Opt Express. 2008 Feb 18;16(4):2699-708. doi: 10.1364/oe.16.002699.

Abstract

Wide-field Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) microscopy is employed to identify saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in micro-emulsions and cells, using the ratio between the strong -C-H CARS signal at 2850 cm(-1) and the weak signal of the =C-H vibration around 3015 cm(-1) for distinction. Quantitative CARS imaging at the =C-H resonance is challenging, since it yields only a low CARS signal, and small differences on the order of 5% in the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty lipids have to be detected. For this purpose we draw advantage of the high signal-to-noise ratio of wide-field CARS microscopy that is achieved by an excitation geometry involving a "sheet-of-light"-type illumination.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Fats, Unsaturated / chemistry
  • Fatty Acids / chemistry
  • Lipids / chemistry*
  • Microscopy / methods
  • Plant Oils / chemistry
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman

Substances

  • Fats, Unsaturated
  • Fatty Acids
  • Lipids
  • Plant Oils